While attending Loyola University, I also worked as Assistant Computer Operator at O'Connor and Assoc. (subsequently purchased by Swiss Bank Corp.)at the Chicago Board of Trade, in a primarily Unix environment (but I also got experience with Data General midframes, PC's, and Macs there). My responsibilities included troubleshooting and routing client problems with our trading software, running and monitoring Unix scripts, and maintaining the backup library for the entire network.

After Loyola, I moved out to Providence for graduate school at Brown, where I also took up work as the payroll bookkeeper for Interim Personnel. I ended up taking on the role of PC Specialist, supporting and improving the small network by upgrading workstations (e.g., to Windows from DOS), customizing the Novell (NetWare 3.12) network (e.g., to improve print queueing), and DOS Batch File coding (e.g., to make backups more user-friendly). I also did extensive Lotus 1-2-3 macro development, automating data entry and report creation for the regional manager. I developed a prototype web site for the regional office, and put together a proposal for hosting such a site.

At First Data, I continued to customize the Novell NetWare environment (again, mostly working with print queue commands) but my first 'sanctioned' project was to automate data entry into mainframe screens, via a terminal emulation program (Rumba). Using the tools at my disposal (MS Office), I created macros in MS Excel (VBA) to perform a multitude of similar tasks. Some of these routines would also leverage pulling data off screens to be used to calculate values which were then sent back to other mainframe screens. Meanwhile, I purchased my own copy of Visual Basic 3.0 and began compiling more self-contained applications. After producing solutions in Visual Basic 5.0 to automate bank reconcilliations, I was promoted to the position of Software Engineer in Control Systems. I worked on migrating a VB 3/Access 2.0 client/server application to VB 6/SQL Server, while also providing support for the older version of the application. During development of the newer version, I continued to produce utilities for the older version, as well as minor improvements to the functionality of the core executable. For a more comprehensive listing of my projects at First Data, click here.

After remaining with First Data through its transition to PNC Bank (subsequently renamed PFPC), and through the Y2K rollover, I took a position in Worcester at the Small Business Service Bureau, where the opportunity existed to work exclusively on web applications. In the course of a year I brought to life the company's first Intranet applications, including a front-end for their VAX/Oracle customer service system, and an externally focused benefits enrollment product.

After successfully getting the Small Business Service Bureau on the path of e-Commerce, I was ready to take on the responsibility of managing a development team. At the end of the year, I received an offer from Harvard Business School Publishing to integrate eLearning courses into their custom Learning Management System platform. In this position I would be overseeing the work of interns, in addition to having the opportunity to work with world-class content, designers and software architects. The team was extraordinarily successful, and over the course of 3 years, we transformed the eLearning "experiment" into the most profitable business unit in the company (in terms of profit margin and net dollars per individual product). We streamlined the production process of the courses, reducing what had once been a one year product cyle, historically outsourced to the tune of $300,000, to a 3-month process done in-house, at an average cost of $50,000.

As a result of our hard efforts, Harvard's eLearning products matured, allowing the producers to focus less on technology and architecture and more on what Harvard is known for: content. I momentarily considered the opportunities created for writing and research, but ultimately accepted an offer from my previous employer to resume the very dynamic, creative, and progressive work I helped start off. Web development at the company was not just a fad, and it had blossomed to become one of their core business groups.